Main Characters | Main Antagonists | Kongrong Mountains | Kingo Islands | Yin | Zhou | Others
A list of the main heroes of Hoshin Engi.
Watch out for spoilers!
Taikobou/Taikung/ Fuuki
Paope: Dashinben, Karyuhyo, Kyokoki, Taikyokuzu, Chusenjin, Bansenjin
Taikobo (Taikung in the Latin American dub) is the doshi chosen by Genshi Tenson to take on the Hoshin Project due to his wit and sharp intelligence. Other than his brilliant mind, Taikobo also has the ability to read other people's psyche and emotions. He uses this skill to his advantage when trying to convince people to change sides. His personality seems to be that of a slacker who would rather spend his time sleeping than training. Most of the time, he cheats his way into winning.
His ideology is to win battles without killing anyone, which turned out to be difficult to keep on more than one occasion. Underneath his unreliable-looking, foolish exterior, Taikobo is a very caring person who wants to protect his friends and allies and always tries to find the bloodless way out of things. He hates bitter medicine and loves peaches. His real name is Ryobo, and he was part of the Qiang nobility back when the Yin Dynasty was still solidifying itself. One day the king of Yin died and, on Dakki's orders, the army ravaged his village and took away almost everybody in order to bury them alive in the freshly erected tomb. He escaped and was found by Genshi Tenson, who offered to be his teacher because Taikobo was born with the bones of a sennin. Wanting to stop Dakki, Taikobo accepted and has been living in the sennin world ever since.
Later in the story, it turns out that the real Ryobu was murdered when the village was razed, and that someone took over his body. Taikobo is actually one-half of Fuuki, one of the First Ones. They were five aliens who ended up on the planet after their home was destroyed and all except one decided to merge with it. The last one, an alien called Joka, rejected the idea and wanted to recreate history to mirror the events of her home planet, and see where it would have gone if it had not been destroyed. The others imprisoned her, but that did not stop her from becoming the signpost of history and manipulating the events as to mirror the ones she experienced on her home planet. Whenever history deviated off-course, Joka would wipe away all life and begin anew. Witnessing that, Fuuki decided to stop her and contacted Genshi Tenson with an elaborate plan. He split his soul into two parts, Taikobo and Otenkun, and began the first step in a series which had a single goal: stopping Joka for good and letting history follow its natural course.
- Amnesiac Hero: He doesn't know that he is half of Fukki's soul. He has had his memories wiped out by Genshi Tenson so that his actions would look genuine and not rouse Joka's suspicions.
- Animal Motif: Taikobo's motif is the rabbit, in contrast to his nemesis Dakki, who is a literal fox. However, he's often compared to a cockroach as well.
- An Arm and a Leg: In the manga, he loses an arm to Incho's Bantenin. Taiitsu later makes him an artificial one which can stretch, shoot water jets and has a rocket punch function.
- Anti-Magic: He inherits the super paope Taikyokuzu, which allows him to nullify every paope in the area. It's later revealed that it can also absorb energy from nearby paope and channel it into Fuuki.
- Best Friend: Of Fugen Shinjin.
- Blow You Away: His first and main paope Dashinben (God-smiting bian) has the power of air-manipulation, which allows him to cast blades of air, cutting vortexes, or even whole protective tornadoes. As the series progresses his control and power augments, with Chokomei stating that his wind is almost alive. Fits well with his mission, as he claims that the Yin needs a "wind of renewal".
- Brilliant, but Lazy: He appears to be this, but it's just a guise.
- Brought Down to Normal: He claims that using the Kyokoki to recover his energy leaves him unable to use paope for a long time. He lied to conserve his forces for Chokomei and to make sure his companions could grow stronger by fighting his disciples.
- Celibate Hero: Possibly because in reality, he is an ancient alien.
- The Chessmaster: He is able to brilliantly manipulate almost everyone around him.
- Combat Pragmatist: To the point where even his friends have said they're embarrassed to be on his side.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Appears to be air-headed and his plots seem shortsighted, but they always turn out to have multiple layers. On top of that, even though Taikobo is rather ineffective in battle, when the need arises he can surprise his enemies considerably.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Taikobo attempts this on various people with inconsistent results.
- Doomed Hometown: His whole village was captured and taken to be buried alive. Although it is revealed that it's not really his village, as the real Ryobo died during the attack. However, Fuuki's entire home planet was destroyed, so the trope still applies.
- Drunken Master: Turns out he studied the drunken fist under Genshi Tenson and becomes quite dangerous when drunk.
- Guile Hero: While Taikobo is a pacifist and a good person, he's also very sly, and no trick is beneath him if it means victory.
- He's Just Hiding:In-Universe, Fuuki in the epilogue chapter. In fact, most of it consists of showing him playing hide-and-seek with everyone else who's looking for him. He's such a tease.
- He did this before, when his entire army and most of his friends were buried alive by Chokei, but he only intervenes after getting called out on it.
- Heroic BSoD: Taikobo goes through this after his disastrous attempt at taking Dakki down. Not only does he fail miserably and loses Supushan, but Dakki throws the remaining Qiang peasants into a poisonous snake pit in front of him. He takes this very hard, but eventually snaps out of it. Also, near the end of the series, when Otenkun reveals that he's Taikobo's other half, and thus, in a way, Taikobo is responsible for the casualties of the Hoshin Project.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Taikobo can be rude, smug, insensitive and mocking, but he's a good guy at heart, values his friends and is willing to go to any lengths to preserve peace.
- Last of His Kind: He's the only survivor of the Qiang clan. Twice Subverted as 1): there are more Qiang survivors and 2) as Fuuki, he's one of the last of the ancient progenitor aliens along with Joka.
- Non-Action Guy: Taikobo is borderline useless in direct combat, until he gets his upgrade. That being said, he's no pushover if cornered, given that a powerful battle-obsessed sennin Chokomei considerd him a Worthy Opponent.
- Not So Harmless: He might look like a fool who doesn't know what he's doing half of the time, but in reality he is very calculating, has no qualms about exploiting weaknesses and usually anticipates his opponent's next move with high accuracy. He is also one half of an ancient alien called Fuuki, the mastermind behind the Hoshin Project.
- Oh, Crap!: Prone to them, but probably the best example has him as Fuuki realize that after giving Joka a preparatory speech for the battle he lacks his paope and is disarmed.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Taikobo, as Fuuki, replies to Joka's Motive Rant with a flat: "No, you're wrong idiot, die." He's still willing to let himself be killed alongside her.
- Split-Personality Merge: This happens with Taikobo and Otenkun. They later merge together to become Fuuki. Although Taikobo is the main, dominating personality and they can split again.
- Temporary Bulk Change: Parodied, after a few months of honest work in Utopia he becomes tan, taller and a lot hunkier. He immediately loses the muscles when he comes back to his senses.
- Tomato in the Mirror: Taikobo and Evil Counterpart Otenkun are revealed to be two halves of Fuuki.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Peaches. To the point of secretly infiltrating Zhou's granaries to eat peaches.
- Unsportsmanlike Gloating: If he has a chance to gloat or mock his opponents, be sure he'll shamelessly abuse it.
- Veganopia: Apparently, a side-effect of being a doshi is that your body can get all necessary energy from fruit and vegetables, so Taikobo never eats meat or fish.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Taikobo flits this: he finds out, painfully, why it's not a good idea to challenge the Big Bad head-on without some serious Level Grinding, and he keeps trying to invoke Defeat Means Friendship on opponents that would otherwise happily slaughter him, but he plays Xanatos Speed Chess with the best of them, and some of his plots lean very, very heavily on the fact that he's in a Shōnen series.
Supushan/Supushang
Supushan is a reiju given to Taikobo by Genshi Tenson. A naive, optimistic, and kind-hearted character, he became a loyal companion to Taikobo once he discovered that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to him. Supushan is often noted by others to resemble a flying hippo.
- Badass Family: Both he and his parents can transform into powerful dragons and eat paope energy.
- Beware the Nice Ones: In the manga, Supushan gets frustrated with Taikobo's reluctance to take advantage of Dakki's seemingly vulnerable state (she was taking a bath and did not have her paope with her) so he picks up a large rock and attempts to sneak up behind her so he can kill her with it. It fails, and the scene is treated as being funny, but that doesn't change the fact that nice, reasonable Supushan was ready to bash Dakki's head in.
- Cool Horse: Supushan looks more like a flying hippo, but fulfills the same role. Later, after Supu's Heroic Sacrifice, he gets temporarily upgraded ''to a dragon''. Even later, Supu gets a permanent upgrade that allows him to transform indefinitely.
- Deadpan Snarker: Unfortunately, Supushan cannot do the Face Palm.
- Intellectual Animal: Like many riding beasts, he possesses an intellect similar to that of a human, and can often be more reasonable and practical than Taikobo.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: He wears gloves, shoes and a cape.
- Only Sane Man: A natural feeling stemming from being partnered with someone as odd, quirky and (sometimes) childish as Taikobo.
- Super Mode: He can transform into a massive dragon-like beast with a deep voice and the ability to literally eat paope energy for breakfast.
- Talking Animal: He is perfectly capable of speech.
- Undying Loyalty: By the end of the series, he shares a deep bond with Taikobo.
Hiko Ko
A natural-born doshi, Hiko Ko is the general of the Yin army and head of the large Ko clan. He is married to one of China's most beautiful women and has four sons, three siblings, and four sworn brothers. He is also Bunchu's best and only friend and the kind of man who inspires friendship and loyalty wherever he goes. In spite of his rough exterior and outward lack of manners, Ko Hiko is courageous, loyal, compassionate, devoted to his loved ones, and has a phenomenal will, being able to resist Dakki's temptation spell on his own. His soldiers worship him, his family looks up to him and he is the only other person other than Bunchu whom the Emperor regards as a friend.
After Dakki's arrival, Hiko tried very hard to keep the dynasty on a steady path and was increasingly worried about Dakki's excesses and unnerving behavior. However, after his wife and sister commit suicide because of Dakki and King Chu, Hiko realizes that the Yin Dynasty cannot be saved anymore, and joined Taikobo to create a new dynasty. This put him at odds with Bunchu, and their struggle played an important role in the story.
- Badass Cape: Wears a white one, which makes him look even bigger than he already is.
- Badass Normal: He's a natural-born doshi, has no paope nor powers, just the strength to kill even monsters with his steel club. In the Chokomei arc, he even smashes an hourglass supposedly vulnerable only to paope with his bare fist.
- Badass Teacher: Towards Ko Tenka and Ko Tensho, at least. He was delighted that his sons showed fighting spirit and enjoyed training with them.
- Badasses Wear Bandanas: Wears a white one, and is probably the one who inspired his son Tenka to wear one as well.
- The Big Guy: He is very tall and well-built, and extremely effective in combat.
- Boisterous Bruiser: He will break your bones, and he won't be subtle about it.
- Carry a Big Stick: His first weapon of choice is a long and massive steel club, which actually resembles the blunt blade of a BFS held by the tip.
- Cool Sword: After the Chokomei arc he ends up wielding the yosei Hito, a giant black sword which is sentient and can shapeshift to a degree.
- Doting Parent: Together with Kashi. They are probably the best parents in the series.
- A Father to His Men: Cares deeply about his soldiers, and tried to keep them away from Dakki's influence by moving their camp outside the palace.
- Fighting Your Friend: He leaves Yin and supports a rival dynasty, which brings him face to face with Bunchu on the battlefield. This is also how he goes out.
- Foil: To Bunchu. They both start out as loyal to Yin, but while Hiko suffers through a personal tragedy and realizes that Yin cannot be saved anymore, Bunchu obstinately clings on to his idea that Yin must prevail at any cost. They are also opposites in terms of personality: Bunchu is cold, calculated and more diplomatic, with outbursts of Tranquil Fury, while Hiko is loud, informal, less refined and generally more hot-headed, but able to put the welfare of others above anything and see the big picture. Their differences are also underlined by their capes: Hiko has a white one while Bunchu's is not only black, but it flares out in a manner resembling sinister wings, and is visually compared to a bat.
- Happily Married: To Kashi. She becomes The Lost Lenore for him when she dies in the beginning of the story, and the mere sight of her face in an illusion is enough to stop him dead in his tracks, and the effect is so powerful that he spares the talking sword who created the illusion so it could try and kill him simply because he got to see her face again.
- Heroic Willpower: His will is so strong he's immune to Dakki's Temptation perfume.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Bunchu.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: He is almost twice as tall as his wife.
- Morality Pet: He's somehow this to Bunchu.
- Nice Guy: He is one of the most admired and well-liked characters. Most of those who come into contact with him appreciate his kindness, courage, unbreakable spirit, optimism, loyalty and sense of humour.
- Parents in Distress: His father is held captive by Dakki's underlings when Hiko attempts to leave Yin, but he is subsequently freed.
- The Patriarch: Although his father is still alive, Ko Hiko is the one in charge of the Ko clan.
- Spared By Adaptation: In the first anime, he survives.
- Take Me Instead: When his father is held captive, Ko Hiko offers his life in exchange, because he cannot stand to lose another family member. Luckily, Ko Tenka enters the picture.
- Tranquil Fury: How he reacts to the news of Kashi and Koshi's deaths.
Nataku/Nazha
Paope: Reiju, Fukarin, Kenkonken, Kontenryo, Kasenso, Kinsen, Kuryu Shinkato II, Kinkosen
Officially, Nataku is the son of Li Sei, the commanding officer of one of the four imperial gates, and his wife Yinshi. In reality, he is something akin to a living weapon. His mother had been pregnant for three years and several months when Taiitsu Shinjin appeared in her dream and told her that although her baby had died, he could still turn the mass of flesh in her womb into a child. Nataku's unusual birth stirred suspicion and repulsion into his father, who did not consider him his child. In contrast, his mother adored him and seemed oblivious to his strange behavior and his cold personality.
Later in life, Nataku killed the son of a river god in self-defense, and sacrificed himself to protect Yinshi when the river god's father arrived seeking revenge. Heartbroken, Yinshi buried his core near the river, only to have it excavated and thrown into the water by Li Sei. Luckily, he was found and recreated by Taiitsu Shinjin, and returns to exact revenge on his father. It is at this point in his life when Nataku meets Taikobou, who convinces him to join his team.
Nataku is normally cold and emotionless, and seems to care only about getting stronger and defeating powerful opponents. Later in the series, as he acquires more and more experiences, he mellows out a bit and adds his allies and Tensho to the list of people he cares about.
- Achilles' Heel: As his brothers point out, he only uses his paope as long-range weapons, which means he's nearly defenseless when caught in melee. He overcomes this weakness by having Kasenso rebuilt as a melee polearm. In general, his reiju is his core, and destroying it will kill Nataku for good.
- Adaptational Wimp: In the first anime, Nataku doesn't get other paope than his first three set.
- Aloof Big Brother: He has this attitude towards Mokutaku and Kintaku, mostly because he only got to meet them when they were already teenagers.
- Back from the Dead: He is recreated by Taiitsu Shinjin after his self-sacrifice.
- Big Brother Instinct: Towards Tensho, sparked by the fact that the young boy lost his mother and later, his father and brother.
- Blood Knight: The only thing that can motivate him is a strong opponent. He doesn't give a crap for anything else, otherwise.
- The Comically Serious: Because he only has one, neutral facial expression, Nataku fits into this trope.
- Defrosting Ice King: He is cold and indifferent to his mother and the team at first, but grows to love and appreciate them with time.
- Dissonant Serenity: Justified by the fact that he is a living weapon and nothing really surprises him.
- Driven to Suicide: Killed himself before the start of the story in order to protect his mother from the fury of the Spiritual Beast King. He got better.
- Dumb Muscle: By sheer brute force, he's even stronger than Yozen and possibly Dakki, but he's dull and stupid. Best shown when he fails to understand the concept of Oedipus Complex even after Taikobo has just explained it to him.
- Emergency Transformation: Before landing on Horai Island Taikobo asks Taiitsu to relocate Nataku's reiju in his head and put a dummy reiju in his chest which, when broken, activates the super paope Kinkosen and merges it with Nataku's body. Even he has to admit it was a good idea.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: While he isn't bad per se, he is ruthlessly violent and initially the only person he cares about is his mother. This gets positively Freudian when it's revealed that he has especially murderous intentions towards his father.
- Facial Markings: Has two stripes reminiscent of band-aids under his eyes.
- Family Theme Naming: Kintaku, Mokutaku, and Nataku.
- Fiery Red Head: Although he does tend to shoot first and ask questions never, Nataku is a subversion of this trope due to his utter lack of emotion.
- Heroic Sacrifice: When Ao Bing's father attacks Rintokan in order to avenge his son Nataku, who was actually responsible for the whole mess, kills himself to save his mother. Interestingly enough, he also takes responsibility for his actions, as he enraged the King's son by entering the river with Kontenryo on, killing nearly all the fish.
- Hypocritical Humor: An artificial human with an Oedipus Complex calling Nento out on having a Sister Complex may be this.
- Lack of Empathy: Possibly due to his unnatural birth, Nataku is emotionless and doesn't give a rat's ass for anyone who's not his mother. Later on he bonds with Tensho, who lost his mother, to the point of promising to be with him and asking Taiitsu to power him up for Tensho's sake.
- Momma's Boy: He genuinely loves his mother, won't harm her and even calls off his vendetta against Li Sei no her behalf. He even bonds with Tensho after hearing that his mother died.
- No-Sell: Since his body is made of lotus roots and his soul is inside his reiju, he's unaffected by mind-based attacks, soul-reaping talismans and curses. He can still be infected with plagues however.
- Normally, I Would Be Dead Now: Because only the destruction of his reiju can effectively kill him, Nataku several times gets wounds serious enough to kill a normal person and just get reconstructed/repaired. At least twice Yozen "kills" him in a gag-like fashion.
- The Nose Knows: Has a very keen and unusual sense of smell. He recognizes the scent of his mother immediately, and can somehow tell if someone is strong based only on how they smell.
- Organic Technology: Was originally created from a lump of flesh and a core developed by Taiitsu Shinjin. After he sacrifices himself to save his mother, he gets a new body made from lotus roots.
- The Quiet One: Never speaks unless absolutely necessary, and even then all he says are short, clipped sentences.
- Scarf of Asskicking: Wears a long, red one.
- Sore Loser: When his brothers beat him in a sparring match and show him his weakness to melee attacks, he flies over the arena (claiming that's not a ring out if you're flying) and bombards them with his paope.
- Tyke-Bomb: Nataku, the living paope.
- The Unfavorite: He falls into this trope once we find out he has two previously unmentioned older brothers.
- Walking Armory: He carries on his person a staggering amount of paope:
- Kenkonken (Heaven and Earth Rings), a set of bronze armguards he can shoot like missiles and call back to his hands.
- Fukarin (Fire and Wind Wheels, two small wheels that allow him to flight.
- Kontenryo (Muddled Heaven Damask), a red cloth which repeals liquids and causes noxious shockwaves when submerged.
- Kinsen (Golden Tile), a shoulder-mounted device which shoots thousands of deadly beams.
- Kasenso (Fire-tipped Lance), a long lance-like weapon with an extensible fire tip. Reworked in a bident weapon which can produce fire between the prongs.
- Kuryuu Shinkato II, a modified version of Taiitsu's paope, it can serve as a solid shelter but also crash anything caught in the middle with what appears to be magnetic/gravity beams.
- Kinkosen, grafted into his body by Taiitsu under Taikobo's suggestion. Can summon either five-colored dragons or a single, giant golden one.
- Who Needs Their Whole Body?: Since he's basically an android, he can survive all types of dismemberment as long as his reiju is intact.
Seigen Myodo Shinkun Yozen
Paope: Kotenken, Sansento, Rikukonhan
Known as the "Genius Doshi", Yozen is the disciple of Gyokutei Shinjin and the only shapeshifter in Kongrong. He was called upon by Genshi Tenson to aid Taikobo. Unwilling to work for just anyone, Youzen first tested Taikobo's ability to lead and gave him three trials, with the condition that if Taikobo failed them, he ould pass leadership on to Yozen. After Taikobou's success, Yozen agreed to follow him and became one of his most loyal supporters. Due to his upbringing and his exceptional good looks and talents, Yozen tends to be proud and cannot stand being upstaged.
It turns out that he is actually a youkai, the son of Tsuten Kyoshu, and was traded away to Genshi T2enson many years ago. Initially, he rejects his past as a youkai because he is afraid of his demon self. But after meeting Taikobo and co., he finally learned to accept his true form and his father. By the end of the manga he succeeds Genshi Tenson as the leader of the sennin world of Horai Island.
- The Ace: Yozen is the strongest doshi, the most resourceful and skilled, but still has many flaws that makes him unfit to lead the Hoshin Project.
- Adaptational Wimp: In the 1999 anime, Yozen's transformation powers are not as formidable. He's also a sennin, not a yokai sennin.
- Bad Boss: Deconstructed, since Yozen is so skilled and strong, he doesn't know how to work with others weaker than him, nor how to lead and motivate them. When he and the other doshi fight Chokei, he even briefly considers leaving them to their fate for being too weak. He realizes his mistakes when Taikobo shows up.
- Badass Cape: After the Sennin War and the fall of Yin, he inherits his father's cloak, the super paope Rikukonhan (Banner of the Six Souls). Not only is a slick black cape seemingly made of pitch-black darkness, but it can also attack with enough force to destroy an island and vaporize the souls of those wrapped inside.
- Beware the Nice Ones: He's a pretty friendly guy, but God help you if you're his opponent and managed to earn his wrath.
- Chick Magnet: Women tend to find him very attractive.
- Cross Dresser: Early in the story, he copies Dakki, which Taikobo can spot. For the next chapters, he somehow gets obsessed with "perfecting" his techniques and often turns into Dakki for fun, to the point that when they meet the real Dakki Tenka looks at Yozen just to be sure.
- Facial Markings: A red dot on his forehead.
- Freakiness Shame: He never showed his real form to the other sennin of Kongrong, fearing ostracism. Subverted when they accept him nonetheless.
- Happily Adopted: Though Gyokutei is officially his teacher, he has been taking care of Yozen since he was a baby and the two share a very powerful bond.
- Heart Broken Badass: After his beloved father figure Gyokutei Shinjin dies from his injuries after carrying him through an acid rain, Yozen is reduced to tears.
- Guyliner: Sports a conspicuous case of this in his real form.
- The Lancer: To Taikobo.
- Limited Wardrobe: Never changes his outfit, unlike other characters. In hindsight, may be a result of his form being a transformation.
- Living Weapon: His flying dog Kotenken is not a spirit beast as it may initially appear - it's actually a paope.
- Missing Mom: We never find out anything about Yozen's mother.
- Monstrous Humanoid: His true form is that of a white-haired, clawed humanoid clad in black robes with a monstrous-looking helm.
- Muggle Foster Parents: Yozen's a yokai raised by Gyokutei Shinjin.
- Parental Substitute: Gyokutei Shinjin becomes this for him, and their bond is a very close one. Gyokutei is the person Yozen loves the most.
- Pretty Boy: Easily one of the most good looking members of Taikobou's band and attracts a lot of women. Lampshaded by Supushan, who thinks he should be the protagonist instead of Taikobo.
- Prongs of Poseidon: His paope Sansento (Three-pronged Sword) is a trident, a nod to his novel counterpart and, in this case, a divine example. Which slips into demonic, as he's a yokai.
- Right-Hand Attack Dog: Owns the living paope Kotenken (Howling Divine Dog), which is a cute white dog who can both provide his master and others with transportation, fly or attack with incredible power.
- Shapeshifting: He's the only sendo in the world (outside of Kibi's paope) who has the power of transformation. He can transform into other people to use their powers and paope, and after some training he can perform Partial Transformation to use multiple powers at once, making him nearly invincible. Turns out it's because of his true yokai nature.
- Sidekick Ex Machina: Yozen. He's not shy about it.
- Tell Me About My Father: Yozen's real father is actually Tsuten Kyoshu.
- Taking You with Me: After Tsuten Kyoshu's nervous breakdown, he grabs ahold of Otenkun before he can escape, in order to make sure he dies in the following chaos.
- The Three Trials: Yozen will only lend his help to Taikobo if he passes three trials. Played for laughs when he admits that he improvised the third one because he never thought Taikobo could pass the first two.
- Third Eye: Like Genshi Tenson, he has an orb-like one in his forehead, but it's seemingly just a decoration.
- You're Not My Father: Having heard that Tsuten Kyoshu is his real father, Yozen sneaked into the Kingo Islands and indirectly told Tsuten that he considered himself human. It is implied that this broke Tsuten Kyoshu's heart, but he nevertheless remained stoic.
- He takes these words back later in the story.
Raishinshi
Paope: Tensoyoku
An orphan found and adopted by Ki Sho to be his 100th son, Raishinshi was taken away as a little boy (implicitly against his will) to be trained as a doshi by his sennin teacher, Unchushi. After being tricked by his teacher into eating a special transformation fruit that turned his skin darker and gave him fangs and bat wings, Raishinshi felt too ashamed to return home in that freakish state and tried to compensate by making a name for himself, thus becoming the leader of a bandit group who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. After being recruited by Taikobo, Raishinshi proved himself to be a useful ally, able to control the powers of wind and lightning. Raishinshi is the youngest of the group members, and probably the most hot-tempered of them all.
He and his teacher have a tense relationship because Unchushi experimented on Raishinshi without his consent and kept him as a virtual prisoner in the sennin world. As a result, Raishinshi is always trying to get even and kill him.
- Ambiguously Brown: He was light-skinned as a normal human, but after being fed something by his sennin teacher, he becomes noticeably darker-skinned than the other characters. In the manga, he's explicitly described as red-skinned.
- By the Power of Grayskull!: He invokes his elemental powers by shouting "Rise, Wind!" and "Fall, Lightning!" respectively.
- Calling Your Attacks: Aside from the above-mentioned paope attacks, he also has the Inazuma Kick attack.
- Demoted to Extra: Lampshaded when he shows up at the end of the war demanding to know why no one waited for him to get there; his mentor blankly asks: "Who are you?" (The anime never caught on to this.)
- Facial Markings: On his forehead.
- Growing Wings: Grows a pair of large, black wings after being tricked into eating a special apricoat. He grows even more as Unchuushi keeps experimenting on him.
- Happily Adopted: Had a very good relationship with his adoptive father.
- Honor Before Reason: He swears that he will not use his wings while fighting Taikobo and keeps true to his vow, even if it looks like he will fall to his death.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: He often explodes in anger.
- Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: Agrees to join Taikobo if he beats him in a one-on-one fisticuff on a suspended arena, no paope involved.
- Loveable Rogue: He is the leader of a bandit group who takes from the greedy rich and gives to the poor.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: Raishinshi has ninety-nine other siblings, the children of Ki Sho and his twenty-six wives.
- Parental Abandonment: He was abandoned by his real parents. Luckily, he was found and adopted by Ki Shou.
- Pointy Ears: Gains them together with Cute Little Fangs as a result of his transformation.
- Power Gives You Wings: Eating Unchushi's magical apricot caused him to sprout paope wings which are currently part of his body.
- Rage Against the Mentor: Raishinshi hates Unchushi because he was a merciless and harsh teacher who treated him like a guinea pig and tricked him into ingesting a special fruit that changed his biological makeup.
- Took a Level in Badass: As a result of Unchuushi's experiments. The first thing he does is to fry his teacher with his newly acquired powers.
- Weather Manipulation: The power of his paope Tensoyoku (Heaven-soaring Wings) allows him to control two elemental powers:
- Blow You Away: One wing allows him to summon tornadoes and aim them to push away even huge obstacles.
- Shock and Awe: The other wing lets him summon lightning bolts, even from the heavens above, to shock people.
- The Worf Effect: Out of the main heroes, he's the one with the lowest victory record.
Bukichi
Taikobo's self-proclaimed disciple, Bukichi is a natural-born doshi - this means that even though he never underwent training as a doshi, he was born with the special bone structure that enables him to be physically stronger: jump higher, run faster, see further, hear better, etc. Basically, in any normal human function, he surpasses the average human ability. Bukichi is a very useful person to have by your side because he can do just about anything (excluding the use of paope), from running on water, talking to animals, seeing in the dark, etc. Many of his skills have been acquired thanks to the countless side jobs he had before.
Originally a woodcutter from Seiki, Bukichi has a personal reason for joining Taikobo: his father went looking for work in Choka and was thrown into Dakki's snake pit, leaving Bukichi alone with his ailing mother. Although many people blamed Taikobo (and in all fairness, they would not have been wrong), Bukichi admired Taikobo for continuing his fight against Dakki and had wanted to join him for years. His determination and obliviousness in the face of rejection finally gained him a place in Taikobo's heart and he became part of his group.
- Badass Normal: He's just a human with sennin bones, but when he's enraged he fights so hard he puts Chokomei on the ropes with nothing but sheer fisticuffs and Unstoppable Rage. At one point Yozen even transforms into him to perform acts of Super-Strength.
- Berserk Button: Do not harm Taikobo in his presence.
- Chick Magnet: During the elephant race in Seiki, Taikobo notices that Bukichi is surrounded by women.
- Determinator: Taikobo runs away from him, informs him that he cannot take an apprentice because he has not yet completed his training and tries repeatedly to get rid of him, but that does not stop Bukichi at all.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: One of the most pure-hearted characters in the series: he is a loving and dutiful son, law-abiding to the point of absurdity, kind-hearted and generous, loyal to his friends, optimistic and empathetic. Lampshaded by Taikobo as he breaks the fourth wall."Damn, this boy is too honest to be in a manga like this!"
- Jack of All Trades: He has acquired an impressive array of skills from the various part-time jobs he had over the years. Often overlaps with New Job as the Plot Demands.
- Running Gag: Him pulling out excellent stunts and justifying them with his past jobs. Including lifeguard, zookeeper, basketball player, elephant tamer and so on...
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Bukichi can talk to birds because he used to have a part-time job in a zoo. This comes in very handy during Taikobo's trip to the Northern provinces.
- Undying Loyalty: Admires Taikobo and thinks the world of him.
- Unstoppable Rage: When he thinks Chokomei has killed Taikobo, he flies in such a rage he's able to run on water and actually pummel the yokai sennin so hard he's forced to use Kinkosen to parry his attacks.
Ko Tenka
Paope: Bakuya no Hoken, Karyuhyo, Kinshintei, Bakuya no Hoken II
The second son of Hiko Ko and his wife Kashi, Ko Tenka is a natural-born doshi just like his father and inherited his passion for fighting. From a very young age, Tenka began training to be a fighter with his father. One day, Doutoku Shinjin, one of the 12 Kongrong Elite Sennin, visited him and offered him a place as his apprentice in Kongrong. Tenka accepted the offer because he wanted to surpass his father and returned only when he found out that his mother and aunt have died and that Ko Hiko had left the capital.
Tenka's laid-back manner and friendly personality hide his determination, stubbornness and incredible willpower. After his father dies, Tenka loses his purpose in life and experiences an existential crisis. The wound he acquires in battle with a youkai refuses to heal and slowly kills him - as a result, he decides to imbue the remaining of his short life with meaning and fights King Chu to restore his family's honor, but spares him in the end so that Ki Hatsu can execute him publicly and gain legitimacy as the new emperor. Immediately after he wins his battle with King Chu, a Yin soldier takes advantage of his wounded state and kills him.
- An Arm and a Leg: In his battle against the Maka Yonsho, Ma Reisei carves the flesh around his elbows and knees. From that moment onward, Tenka has visible replacement patches of flesh in place.
- Badasses Wear Bandanas: Wears a white one in the manga and a green one in the anime.
- Determinator: When battling Ma Reisei of the Maka Yonsho, he gets grieviously injured and after bandaging his wounds, he comes back for a rematch - Taikobou remarks that he must be standing on willpower alone.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: In the manga, a soldier kills Ko Tenka by stabbing him from the back. He dies in Taikobo's arms.
- Dual Wielding: He eventually learns to use two Bakuya no Hoken. During the Battle of Bokuya he ends up fight King Chu with two Double Weapons. When he's first introduced in the manga he's seen wielding two clubs, possibly a nod to the original novel (where Tenka/Tianhua only uses the sword once and fights with dual hammers for the rest of the novel).
- Duel to the Death: He decides to go out having a final fight against King Chu to avenge his family. He defeats the king, but is speared in the back by a loyal soldier and dies before King Chu does.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: He's had scar over the bridge of the nose ever since he was a young boy, though we never find out what caused it.
- Named Weapons: His paope is named after the real life Sword of Mo Ye (which probably's not a laser blade though).
- Laser Blade: His paope is, essentially, a lightsaber (yellow in manga and first anime, blue in the 2018 reboot). Later he gets the seemingly inexaustible Kinshintei (Adamantine Heart Nails), which are miniature versions of Bakuya no Hoken he can throw like darts or use as improvised climbing tools. Near the end he gets the Bakuya no Hoken II, which is double-bladed.
- Master Swordsman: The only member of the cast to be a swordsman, and he's quite skilled at it.
- Oral Fixation: In the manga, Ko Tenka is never seen without a cigarette. In the anime, it is replaced by a small stick. Gets his cigarette back in the second anime.
- Revenge Before Reason: Since his first appearence, he wants to avenge his mother and aunt who were killed by Dakki. This ultimately leads to him choosing revenge and sneaking in Choka to fight King Chu, rather than, as Taikobo suggested, wait for the invasion and survive thanks to the sennin's superior medicine.
- Situational Sword: The fire paope Karyuhyo bestowed to him by Taikobo, meant to counter Tenka's long-ranged weakness.
- Sore Loser: Self-admitted during the Maka Yonsho arc, where, after being defeated by Ma Reisei, ha returns almost immediately from Kongrong with barely-patched wounds and new paope to challenge Ma Reisei to a rematch.
- Spared by the Adaptation: In the manga, he is killed by a random soldier after defeating King Chu. In the anime, he survives and returns to the girl at the inn.
- Strong Family Resemblance: To his mother Kashi, as noted by Ko Hiko.
- Verbal Tic: Adds "-sa" at the end of every sentence.
- Wound That Will Not Heal: Acquires a light cut on his abdomen that will not cease bleeding. As a result, he knows he is dying.
Ko Tensho
The youngest son of Hiko Ko and Kashi, Tensho was born with the bones of a doshi, just like his father and brother, but did not undergo any training in the Sennin world. He looks up to his father and brother Tenka and wishes he could help them more. He takes part in several battles in the Sennin world and is always lucky enough to come out unharmed out of any confrontation. After his parents, older brother and aunt die, he develops a fear of abandonment which ends up being soothed by Nataku of all people, with whom Tensho develops a friendship. Hearing that Tensho lost his mother strikes a chord in the normally indifferent Nataku and he assumes a protective role towards the boy.
- Badass Adorable: A very cute and cheerful child who inherited his father's bravery and endurance. He can even defeat Hiko's sworn brothers, four adult and powerful warriors.
- Broken Bird: Originally a Cheerful Child, he is traumatized by the loss of his parents, older brother and aunt and develops a fear of abandonment. Luckily, his unlikely friendship with Nataku proves beneficial in that respect.
- Child Soldier: Willingly helps his father and brother in battles, taking full advantage of his special genetic makeup.
- Innocently Insensitive: Without a trace of malice, he calls the yokai Kyuin "Poop-hair" because of his spiraling, poop-like hair. Kyuin isn't amused.
- Missing Mom: Although the entire Ko clan was affected by Kashi's death, Tensho was shown to be among the hardest struck by the tragedy, as he is still a boy.
- Morality Pet: He is Nataku's only friend (at least in the traditional sense of the word), and they can sometimes be seen playing together in the background. He even lets Tensho ride him.
- Tagalong Kid: He joins some of the battles during the great sennin war, but otherwise stays in the background.
- Weapon Specialization: The spear is his specialty. He is still a young boy and physically overshadowed by his enemies, and the spear allows him enough distance to overcome this disadvantage. He later inherits Hito from his father.
Toh Sengyoku
Paope: Gokoseki
A vivacious doshi living with her father in the Kingo Islands, Sengyoku is introduced in the story as a spy sent by Bunchu to gather information about the leaders of the Zhou and Taikobo's movements. She takes her job seriously at first, but falls head over heels in love with Dokoson (to everybody's surprise) and switches sides. Her ball-shaped paope Gokoseki is the source of many humorous scenes in the manga, as it follows its target around and magically applies too much makeup on whoever it hits. Sengyoku also has a terrible fear of birds due to trauma from the past.
- Abhorrent Admirer: Inverted, she is this for Dokoson at first, but he mellows out by the end. She has one in the deluded and creepy Ryukan (played straight).
- Action Girl: She's energic and eager to join the fray. Unfortunately, she can't quite catch up with the others.
- Always Accurate Attack: Her paope Gokoseki (Five Lights Stone) is a stone which, when toss, will always land squarely on the opponent's forehead, giving them a highly-detailed, ridicolous facial expression. Unfortunately, as Taikobo points out, it doesn't hurt a lot. When Taiitsu removes the Power Limiter inside, the attack can split in several balls and hit hard enough to draw blood and crack necks.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: She wins a duel against Taikobo and is therefore allowed to stay in Seiki and continue spying.
- Determinator: According to her father, once she makes up her mind, she cannot be dissuaded.
- Girlish Pigtails: She wears her otherwise normal hair in two braids which defy gravity.
- Loose Lips: As Taikobo notes, she is quite talkative for a spy.
- Love at First Sight: Falls for a guy who looks like an overgrown mole. She claims that personality is more important than physical attractiveness, but Dokoson isn't exactly Prince Charming in that department, either. Everybody is baffled by this development.
- Fiery Redhead: She fits the trope well, with her strong, energetic and determined personality.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: During the Chokomei arc, Taiitsu examines her paope and notices a Power Limiter put inside which reduces the paope's power and energy absorbtion to 1/5. Upon removing the limiter, she can pack a stronger punch, but she runs out of energy faster.
- Missing Mom: Her mother died of illness when Sengyoku was young.
- No Accounting for Taste: Quite possibly the only person in the world who would fall in love at first sight with Dokoson.
- Screaming at Squick: Her reactions to Chokomei's giant projection and One-Winged Angel. She finds him too creepy.
- Selective Obliviousness: Dokoson does not react well to her sudden interest and behavior towards him, and doesn't really want to marry her. She completely ignores that.
- Stalker with a Crush: She is the unfortunate object of Ryukan, a fellow Doshi's affections. He won't take no for an answer, and she is understandably frightened by his behavior.
- Stripperriffic: Her outfit is very skimpy.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Calls Taikobo out on eating the peaches from Shu's army supplies while nobody's looking.
- What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: A side effect of her paope and, initially, only power, was the ability to force people hit by it to make grotesque, hyper-detailed faces.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Sengyoku is terrified of birds because her stalker used a bird-shaped paope attack. Taikobou uses this to his advantage, but goes overboard and causes her to punch him in the face, winning the match.
